Musical performances in harmony with Picasso

Published 5:03 pm, Thursday, March 14, 2013

Pablo Picasso, Head of a Man, 1908, ink and charcoal on paper, Private Collection. 2013 Estate of
Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Pablo Picasso, Head of a Man, 1908, ink and charcoal on paper, Private Collection. 2013 Estate of
Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Photo: 2013 Estate Of Pablo Picasso

Musical performances in harmony with Picasso

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Pablo Picasso was a man of many interests - and one of them was music.

Not only was he fond of painting musicians (especially guitarists), he also collaborated with many of the leading composers in Paris. Igor Stravinsky, Eric Satie, Manuel de Falla and Darius Milhaud all worked with Picasso, who created scenery and costumes for their music-theater works.

These connections linking Picasso to the music of his era lie at the heart of a series of concerts by Da Camera of Houston. Da Camera's "Picasso and Music," is presented in conjunction with the "Picasso Black and White" exhibition now showing at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

The series began last week with a concert in the MFAH's Brown Auditorium, featuring pianists Sarah Rothenberg and Marilyn Nonken.

The two remaining concerts are half-hour "pop-up" concerts in the museum's galleries. At 2 and 3:30 p.m. Saturday and March 23, musicians from Da Camera's Young Artists Program will perform chamber music inspired by the exhibit.

The first program, "Picasso and Stravinsky," draws on the parallels linking the Spanish artist and the Russian composer.

"These are two of the seminal figures of the 20th century," says Rothenberg, Da Camera's artistic and general director. "Each had a remarkable ability to transform himself and move through different styles."

Rothenberg also points out they were personal friends and traveled in Italy together. It was on this journey they began to collaborate on the ballet "Pulcinella."

More Information

Picasso and Music

"Picasso and Stravinsky"

When: 2 and 3:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Beck Building, 5601 Main

Tickets: Free with museum admission

"War and Peace: From Spain to France"

When: 2 and 3:30 p.m. March 23

Where: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Beck Building, 5601 Main

Tickets: Free with museum admission

Saturday's concert features Stravinsky's "Suite Italienne," an arrangement of movements from "Pulcinella"; his solo clarinet piece "Pour Pablo Picasso"; excerpts from "L'Histoire du Soldat"; and his "Three Pieces for String Quartet." In addition to these Stravinsky works, American composer Joan Tower's Stravinsky-inspired "Petroushskates" also is on the program.

The theme on March 23 is "War and Peace: From Spain to France," and the program will contain selected works by Manuel De Falla, Paul Dessau, Francois Rabbath and Francis Poulenc. As well, there will be a pair of new Picasso-inspired works by Nicolai Jacobsen and Mark Buller, two Houston composers who are participating in Da Camera's Young Artists Program.

Exhibition-based programming is one of Rothenberg's fortes. Da Camera has a long-standing relationship with the Menil Collection and also can be heard at the Rothko Chapel and the Houston Center for Photography. As well, Rothenberg has created special thematic concerts at Lincoln Center, the Miller Theatre and New York venues.

"Sarah Rothenberg is an old friend of mine," MFAH director Gary Tinterow said. "I've long admired her inventive programing at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. So I was delighted when I was appointed to Houston, a year ago, to be able to explore programming ideas."

He continues: "A distinctive feature of Sarah Rothenberg's approach is that she's able to make musical analogies to the visual arts and can pair a specific piece of music with the time, place or the sensibility of a work of art."

It's this approach that Rothenberg wants to impart to the 13 participants in Da Camera's Young Artist Program.

"We started it in 2009," she notes, "and it's been gathering steam. This year, we had 100 applicants for a dozen places, so it's become a very popular. We offer workshops in career development, including concert programming, marketing and grant writing."

The participants are in their 20s or early 30s and have either finished or are just completing their formal music education at an advanced level. They play more than 100 concerts a year in the Houston area.

"There's also a commitment to the community," adds Rothenberg. "The participants serve as artist-teachers in the public schools. We're bringing music into science, math and creative writing. So they learn how to connect with an audience in very different settings."

Colin Eatock is a writer who covers classical music. He lives in Toronto.